Fewer Canadians denied entry to U.S. Overused seatbelt signs affect air safety: expert

OTTAWA • Fewer Canadians are being turned away at the U.S. land border in recent months despite mounting concerns that Donald Trump’s immigration policies are making it much harder to cross, The Canadian Press has learned.

Refusals of Canadians at American land crossings dropped 8.5 per cent between October and the end of February compared with the same five-month period a year earlier, according to U.S. government statistics.

The total number of Canadian travellers denied entry also dropped: 6,875 out of 12,991,027 were refused entry, a refusal rate of 0.05 per cent.

Between October 2015 and February 2016, 7,619 out of 13,173,100 Canadian travellers were denied entry to the U.S., a refusal rate of 0.06 per cent.

The figures, confirmed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, contrast with recent anecdotal reports of Canadians denied entry into the U.S., with many placing the blame on the policies of the Trump administration, including its controversial attempts to ban arrivals from several predominantly Muslim countries.

A further breakdown of the border data shows a sharp drop in Canadian refusals at the U.S. border in the first two months of this year as 2,600 Canadian travellers were denied entry, compared with 3,500 for the same two-month period of 2016.

But Canadian immigration and civil liberties advocates caution the numbers don’t tell the whole story.

Immigration lawyer Lorne Waldman said he is fielding more calls than ever from people planning a trip to the U.S. and wanting to make sure they have the paperwork they need. The decreased rate of refusal could be just that people are now better prepared than they used to be, and so fewer are being turned away as a result, he said.

“People in Canada used to take it for granted that they could just go to the border … but that’s no longer the case,” he said. “The heightened awareness because of all the publicity around immigration has led people to be much more cautious about crossing the border.”

The new U.S. data doesn’t disclose the specific reasons for refusals; there are more than 60 reasons someone can be turned away and so it’s not clear whether there’s been a change in why people are being turned back.

In the wake of Trump’s first executive order governing immigration, 200 Canadian participants in the Canada-U.S. trusted traveller program NEXUS did have their express-entry cards temporarily revoked, but it was never clear whether they were also denied entry to the U.S. or were allowed in after going through normal security screening measures.

The fact that the numbers overall of people crossing the border are also down suggests more are also just staying home, Waldman said, a fact borne out in recent days as a number of groups announced they were cancelling cross border trips.

Among them is the Toronto District School Board, which said Thursday it would stop the planning of future field trips to the U.S. indefinitely because of uncertainty about possible border restrictions. It said it made the “difficult decision” because it believes students “should not be placed into these situations of potentially being turned away at the border.”

How many people are being turned away isn’t the only concern, said Brenda McPhail, director of the privacy, technology and surveillance project at the Canadian Civil Liberties Association.

“The other concern is that there’s been an increase in temporary detentions and increasingly invasive searches, including searches of electronic devices,” she said.

The new U.S. Homeland Security chief, retired general John Kelly, told The Canadian Press earlier this month that if a traveller is stopped for additional screening, or is turned away, it may be because his name has turned up on a watch list, or there is a problem with his credentials.

“It’s not their race, it’s not their religion, it’s not the language they speak.” An airline safety expert says plane crews may be unwittingly compromising flight safety by leaving seatbelt signs on too long.

Greg Marshall suggests passengers may not see the need to remain buckled up if the signs remain illuminated during a smooth ride or if no one has explained to flyers what’s going on.

“The seatbelt sign can tend to stay on for long periods of time. There are occasions when I believe the crews simply forget to turn the sign off,” said Marshall of Flight Safety Foundation, an aviation safety advocacy group headquartered in Alexandria, Va. “The intent of putting the seatbelt sign on degrades because passengers get up and walk around the cabin anyway.”

Canada’s Transportation Safety Board noted in a recent report on 21 turbulencerelated injuries on an Air Canada flight from Shanghai to Toronto in December 2015 that passenger compliance with the seatbelt signs may have been affected by the amount of time seatbelt lights had been on.

It said 35 minutes elapsed from the time turbulence preparations started in the cabin to when severe bumpiness began. The cabin lights were low and flight attendants had been moving about, suggesting to passengers that the turbulence was not imminent, the report said.

Canadian aviation regulations require passengers to buckle up during taxis, takeoffs and landings. They must also secure themselves if the seatbelt sign is on or when crew members tell them to do so.

Passengers are also advised, however, to keep their seatbelts fastened whenever they’re seated to avoid possible injuries from turbulence.

The industry is aware of the potential for overuse of seatbelt signs.

Transport Canada stated in a 2014 circular that the policies of some airlines to keep passengers in their seats at all times can be counter-productive. It said seatbelt signs should only be lit during critical phases of flight, in cases of turbulence or when the pilot deems it necessary for safety reasons.

“By doing so, passengers and crew members are more likely to understand and realize the importance of the safety belt sign and comply with the instructions when it is illuminated,” the circular stated.

The International Air Transport Association advises that seatbelt signs should be used only when necessary “to avoid undermining the importance of the illuminated signs during turbulence or emergency situation.”

The TSB report on the Air Canada flight noted that Transport Canada recommends seatbelt announcements be customized with the anticipated severity and duration of turbulence.